Drama in Duntroon.

Saturday 10th February With only 27km to go, we had a more relaxed departure this morning. What a delightfully cruisy ride we had. Mostly flat and with only the occasional brief sections of very loose gravel and rocky dry creek crossings. The trail actually took us right through a vineyard/winery. Pity it was only 9am!

We meandered through a “forested” area along a river. Shame that it was all introduced weed trees and shrubs. Willows, pines, gorse, broom…

At the 23km mark we checked out a Maori rock art site.

Random “Speeding cyclist” rock

The final few hundred metres was through a revegetated wetlands. There was lots of signage, so we made a promise to return in the afternoon. Arriving in Duntroon we found Rick at a picnic table which he thought we’d use for lunch. A couple of reasons why that didn’t happen. Firstly, the riders were all attracted to a café with great date scones, carrot cake and coffee. We then made a plan to visit “Elephant Rocks” by car before lunch. Just as we left the café.. DRAMA. A fire started just behind the picnic table ripping through dry pampas grass and threatening bikes and a small historic building which housed a local book swap library. We dashed off to notify the local shop owners. No one had any fire fighting gear apart from one woman with a wet towel. The blacksmith realized the library was in danger so he, another local, Tim and Kerry helped get the books out, the rest of us moved our bikes, other bikes fully loaded with panniers which belonged to tourists in the café who didn’t know anything was happening. A few of us did manage to get a few photos amongst the mayhem. None of the locals who were there thought to run to the fire shed and get the truck out!! It did finally arrive along with 2 others from other towns. Fortunately the fire was contained quickly and no buildings were damaged. We did all smell very strongly of smoke. The fire takes off

Kerry helping with the books

The blacksmith heading for the library

Fire truck and a crazy shirtless man carrying a shovel!!

The blacksmith and others more relaxed

The historic buildings that were saved.

How did the fire start? When we first arrived in town, there were a couple of guys using a chainsaw, just where the fire started. They had left, so we figure either they threw a cigarette in the grass when they left, or the chainsaw had sent a spark that had been smouldering for a while. We finally dragged ourselves away from the excitement and Rick drove us to Elephant Rocks. Here are some photos

Kerry’s antics

There was a picnic table at the rocks, so we enjoyed the usual picnic lunch, packing up just as a few rain drops fell. Nearby there was a fossil site, so we moved on to there, just to have the sky open as we were getting out of the bus. Only half were prepared to get wet!! There were 4 pieces of fossilized whale bones partially exposed from the surrounding rock. It was time to check into the Duntroon hotel. The bike accommodation was perfect – a locked shed. The rooms were also wonderful, but drama continued as there was a power outage that stopped both the washing machine and the ignition for the gas hot water. Some of us had unpleasant cold showers, others found a room that did have hot water. Great to travel with a mob!! The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and waiting for the rain to stop so we could do the walk in the wetlands. Duntroon Anglican church

Toilet block art

Duntroon garage

Entry to the wetlands

Other wetlands shots

No cooking for Rick tonight. We ate at the hotel. 3 of our number put on their blinkers and/or sustainability consciences and ordered Orange Ruffy. They will remain nameless…they said it was delicious!! Guess what? There was another marathon 31 championship.